


The Price of Desire

by Eternal_Love_Song, Loxxlay



Series: The Price [2]
Category: Guardians of the Galaxy (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Dubious Consent, F/F, Female Loki, Loki Needs a Hug, Prisoner Loki, Voyeurism
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-13
Updated: 2016-02-13
Packaged: 2018-05-20 01:58:26
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,818
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5988208
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eternal_Love_Song/pseuds/Eternal_Love_Song, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Loxxlay/pseuds/Loxxlay
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>To survive being trapped in Thano's court, Loki decides to try to make allies of his daughters. She begins with Gamora, believing the best way to bypass the woman's defenses is with pleasure and Gamora seems to agree.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Price of Desire

Loki was disgruntled when she was lead to the public baths. She had been given only a cloak to cover her naked form. The guards were eyeing her hungrily and it didn’t make her sick as much as it made her angry. She presumed the King’s obvious claim on her was the only reason they weren’t already trying to take advantage of her. She was still a prisoner and not one of his “daughters,” but he had clearly decided that she was his. Not that his decision wasn’t technically true. Odin had sold her, after all. The truth of that grated on her nerves.

Not that Loki had a better plan than Odin’s. There were few in Asgard whom could both be trusted not to break and were clever enough to potentially sabotage an enemy court. Loki’s sabotage was restricted to wasting the man’s time and distracting his attention, but that would have to be enough for now. Thor would come for her, and since the oaf was too stupid to be crafty or sneaky, Loki would need to be as much of a distraction as she could.

There were a few bathing pools in the room, the largest of them in the room’s center. Loki chose that one to bath in. If she couldn’t have privacy, she would at least have comfort and the largest would afford her the most room. She was certain that there were private baths, but Thanos wanted to “show her what to expect” and apparently, what she could expect was to be treated as a lowly sex slave.

Perhaps if she behaved, she could work her way up to “daughter.” The thought sickened her. Best to ignore it while she could. This place would be a trial, she needed all the small comforts that she could afford.

Loki was not in the least shy about her body. In a normal situation, in her own court, she had no problems showing herself. Thor and his friends had learned it the first few times she and Sif bathed with them. Fandral was the only one of the boys that hadn’t lost his composure and ran out at the sight of them.

In her court, no one was trying to outright humiliate, break, or disgrace her. In her court, she was respected. It had not always been so and she had to fight a few times to earn, and keep, her position, but it was hers now. Even at it’s worst, being in Asgard had never made her feel like those few hours with Thanos had.

But there was no hiding here, regardless of how she felt about it. Thanos had proven that. The presence of the guards here was no worse. Loki had already been held open before these men. Her flesh had been bared, her pleasure torn out of her, hate and disgust ripped out and held up for examination. She couldn’t be safe, but there were rules in place already about who could touch her. That would have to be good enough.

Loki dropped down into the center pool. There was nothing to be done about it anyway, so why worry? She let the warm water soothe her body and allowed it to calm her nerves. She wanted to wash the king’s gaze from her skin, but Loki was certain that she would have to remove an entire layer of flesh to accomplish such a thing and peeling off one’s skin was not very appealing. A shame, really, though she wouldn’t put it past Thanos to be attracted to her anyway. She wouldn’t put it past him to do the same thing to a creature he had no attraction to.

She allowed herself to slip under the water a few moments to wet her hair, counting as she held her breath. She had practiced holding her breath in order to perform such alarming pranks before, making others think that she was dead or unconscious and frightening them when they came to rescue her. Idly, she wondered how long she could stay under before the guards would come drag her up.

Shuddering at even the thought, she reluctantly returned to the surface. Loki did not want to do anything to provoke the guards to approach her, let alone try to touch her. As much as she thought she believed herself off-limits, she understood all too well what the frustrations of men could cause. Such was the trial of Svadilfari.

Just as Loki had begun to wonder if there were a time limit to her bath and what awaited her after, Gamora entered. The woman walked with the confidence of someone very certain of her place, unafraid of all but one master. It was the way that Loki walked in her own court, fearful of nothing but the will or wrath of her king. That cemented, in Loki’s mind at least, that the king’s “daughters” were off limits to all but him. Some would consider that to be an honored position. Loki thought that she might rather take her chance with the guards. Even if she fought them and was punished for the offence, the risk of being sent to the gallows held a certain charm that facing King Thanos lacked entirely. Death was a far kinder and easier fate.

“I hope you don’t mind if I join you,” Gamora said as she slid into the bathing pool across from Loki. Her smile looked almost sincere, her body almost relaxed. If the ordeal in the throne room was any indication, the tension couldn’t possibly be because the woman was shy of her body. The king clearly had a love of public affairs, and that sort of treatment broke the habits of modesty very quickly. The woman was either here under false pretenses or was uncertain about dealing with Loki herself. Both were equally likely.

“It is not as if that would make a difference,” Loki replied with a sharp grin full of teeth. “This is a public bath. I would have no say if the guards decided to disrobe and join me.”

Gamora frowned at that response, but Loki didn’t know if it was because of her hostility or the words themselves. “The guards have no right to touch you,” Gamora told her.

“Oh?” Loki asked, opening her eyes wide with disbelief. “I think your king has made it quite clear that I am little more than a common whore for his court.”

“You are not a whore!” It was almost certainly a defense of the woman’s own position. Better to be a concubine to a king than a common whore. Loki would agree with that statement anywhere but in Thanos’ court.

“What am I then?” Loki asked. “I was sold to this man and he had his… daughters make sport of me while he watched from his throne. What does that make me, if not a whore? A sex slave, not entitled to compensation for my efforts? A jester, that I might be mocked and laughed at?”

“None of that!” Gamora insisted. “If you would just co-operate with him, you could be what Nebula and I are.”

“His daughter?” Loki said with derision. Hard to hold it back really. The situation was entirely too distasteful and she needed to vent.

“Safe,” Gamora answered. “No one but the king may touch you. You have freedom of movement, you are bestowed with treasures and gifts you have never even dreamed!”

“You are forced to submit yourself in a public setting and be an utter spectacle.” Loki’s voice was mild now. She was calming herself down. Hostility would not help her. This woman could be a good ally if only Loki could convince her.

“Trust me, you are safer within his fold than outside it.”

Gamora wasn’t wrong. Loki already knew that she needed a way to gain Thanos’ trust. The entire reason that she was here was the hope that she could do just that. But Thanos had also made it clear that there was only one way he would trust her. She would have to betray Odin, her brother, Asgard itself, and she wasn’t willing to do that, not even as a farce.

No, Thanos would never trust her.

But Thanos did trust his daughters.

Surely Gamora hated being Thanos’ slave, just as much as she did. No one could enjoy being paraded around as an object or pleasing a king in front of his legions of men. If she could convince Gamora to help her, to become an ally, then perhaps she would even be able to destroy Thanos’ kingdom from the inside. That way, she wouldn’t need Thanos’ trust. She just needed help from someone he already trusted.

Trying to look contemplative, Loki turned her head to the side as she pretended to consider Gamora’s offer. For now, it wouldn’t do to alienate the women. Loki had to look open to suggestion at least.

Gamora moved closer to Loki after she was quiet for a while. “Here, let me help you.”

The woman lifted a bottle of shampoo from the side of the pool and began to pour it on Loki’s head, massaging it into her scalp. Loki closed her eyes and relaxed into the touch. It was easy to allow this. Servants had washed and dressed her all her life. She was the daughter of a king, whether that was Laufey or Odin. (Or Thanos, a traitorous part of her mind whispered, but she shut down that thought quickly.)

“This doesn’t have to be so bad,” Gamora said softly. Her hands were moving slowly down Loki’s back and to her shoulders. She was washing Loki’s entire body now, gently lathering her chest and breast, her hands lingering everywhere. “If you let it, it can be really good.” She poured a pitcher of water over Loki’s head and repeated the action a few more times to rinse the soap from Loki’s head and body.

“Perhaps you are right,” Loki answered. “But if so, I’d rather not explore the idea now.” She looked pointedly at the guards

Gamora nodded. “I understand. Once we are done here, I’ll lead you to the room Nebula and I share.”

Loki smiled, but didn’t reply. After a moment, Gamora started to clean herself. Loki watched her briefly before sitting on the edge of the pool to clean her lower half.

* * *

 

The guards gave Loki over to Gamora’s custody without hesitation, though they did trail behind them. Gamora led her deeper and deeper into the center of the palace towards the room she shared with Nebula. Loki couldn’t imagine a worse location for trying to escape. The people they passed stared openly at Loki covered by only a towel. All of her other clothing had been destroyed by the guards right away. She dreaded what she would be allowed to wear, and she shuddered at the thought that the king might not allow her to wear anything at all.

The guards stopped at the doorway once they reached their destination. Loki wondered if they would remain there the entire time. If they did, would that be a chance to curry their favor? Loki had often been told she had a silver tongue as she could persuade others into nearly anything. It would be a test of her skill, but so would sneaking past the sisters to do so.

But no, Loki was getting ahead of herself, as she so often did. Getting lost in her own planning would do her no good now. She needed to be in the moment to succeed. After she entered the room and left the guards presence, it became much easier to focus.

For a slave, it was a lovely room. While there were no windows and lighting was dim, it still did not diminish the room’s splendor. Against the middle of a wall rested a bed, large and round, covered by a green comforter, and piled with plush pillows of different sizes. Some were gilded for decoration while others were plainly for comfort. The bed could clearly fit at least three people, likely four, and that implication left a sour taste in Loki’s mouth.

It was clearly the room of a favored concubine.

Dark wood furnishing comprised the rest of the furniture. A long vanity, strewn with trinkets and jewelry sat aside the bed along with a wooden chair resting in front. Above the vanity hung a decent mirror, as well as a larger, full length mirror on the opposite end of the room. Red curtains embellished both sides of the larger mirror’s frame, impressing even Loki who was quite familiar with luxury. .

Tucked into the corner was another bed, this one only large enough for two. Only a couple of pillows rested atop atop the blue comforter, and Nebula herself sitting on the bed made it very clear to whom it belonged. There were two separate wardrobes in the room and they were the only things that lacked any visual difference between them aside from location. One was closer to Nebula’s bed and the other stood against the opposite wall.

“The two of you share quarters,” Loki commented idly.

She took a few cautious steps into the room as she looked around. Her gaze fell on Nebula, who glowered at them, likely for daring to intrude upon her solitude. While Loki watched the other sister, Gamora sauntered over to her own bed. She sat primly on the covers, clearly expecting Loki to join her.

Loki kept her attention on Nebula a while longer, until the bald woman decided to bury herself under her blanket to escape the scrutiny--or perhaps to pretend that she was in the room alone. Either way, Loki turned to Gamora.

“We rank above others in… similar station,” Gamora explained tactfully.

“Hmm,” Loki hummed as she sat on the edge of the bed. “And you’re content with that?”

Gamora ignored that question. She moved further onto the bed, tugging at Loki until she relented and joined her in the bed’s center. “It’s difficult to get used to at first, but there’s nothing that says we can’t… practice...” Gamora’s hand trailed along Loki’s thigh.

“You think this will make me feel better?” Loki asked, raising a skeptical eyebrow.

“Nebula and I have done this often,” Gamora told her. “It makes things a little easier, being familiar with one another.”

Loki met Gamora’s gaze. “Does it really?”

The slight frown of the woman’s lips and the determined set of her eyebrows, the tenseness in her shoulders and the stiffness of her posture, was answer enough to the question. This didn’t make it easier, but the lie did. The lie that anything could make it better. The lie that something could hide the reality of the situation.

Loki forced a smile to her lips and made her body relax. She reached out to Gamora with a single hand. “What do you like?”

Gamora returned the smile, and Loki could see her defenses lowering.

This was good. Hostility would be of little help here. Loki would need to get under Gamora’s skin if she had any hope of persuading this woman to listen. As long as she was already inviting pleasure, Loki would use this opportunity as best she could. If she could get the Gamora exhausted and sated, she might loosen her lips or shift her loyalties. Gamora couldn’t possibly be loyal to Thanos out of anything other than fear. Loki had to make her forget that fear.

She started slow, pressing small kisses to Gamora’s neck. Beside her, Gamora’s muscles loosened and became pliant as she relaxed under the touch. Encouraged, Loki slid her hands up and down Gamora’s arms and shoulders, kneading them a little, and at the same time, she left tiny bites trailing up the woman’s neck. Leaning into the contact, Gamora made small startled moans of pleasure.

“Tell me something, Gamora,” Loki whispered. She cupped Gamora’s face with both hands and looked deep into the woman’s eyes as they widened with lust. “When was the last time someone told you how beautiful you were?”

Gamora blinked in surprise before her expression swiftly hardened moments later. Her eyes flickered indecisively between both warmth and offense at the compliment.

Loki took in the woman’s full form, visibly lingering on her arms and legs. To earn her trust, she wanted to give the impression that she admired Gamora, but not in the way that the guards did. Not in the way Thanos did. There was more to beauty than sexual appeal.

Lightly, Loki brushed her hands down Gamora’s arms. “When was the last time someone complimented you on the lovely shape of your arms?” Then her fingers dragged down Gamora’s thighs. “Or the graceful way in which you move?”

Out of the corner of her eye, Loki spied Nebula emerging from the cocoon of her comforter. She was watching them, but Loki couldn’t decipher her expression without turning her attention away from her sister.

“The King’s attention is all the compliment I need,” Gamora replied. Despite the assurance in the words, Loki knew she didn’t mean it. She could count all the lies Gamora told herself and see them equalled in the truth Nebula demanded of the world.

“Perhaps,” Loki said easily. “But I did not ask about your need. I want to know when the last time someone admired you was? Truly?”

Loki gently pulled Gamora up and slid behind her, in part so that she could watch Nebula and partly so that she could make Gamora feel the same vulnerability of their positions that Loki had felt the last time the woman had touched her. Loki’s legs slotted between Gamora’s, and her chest pressed comfortably against the woman’s back. Then, she slid her hand between them to the center of Gamora’s shoulderblades and kissed her neck.

“These lines are beautiful,” she breathed. Listening carefully for the woman’s soft sounds of approval, Loki trailed her tongue down Gamora’s spine. Flattery heightened almost every experience, and she needed that in order to get under Gamora’s skin.

“I see compliments in every eye that looks my way,” Gamora told her. “I don’t need yours.”

Loki didn’t reply. This wasn’t an argument. Instead, she swept her palms to press against Gamora’s front. First to caress her stomach--drawing her tongue up Gamora’s spine to match--and then to cup the woman’s breast. Gamora’s erect nipples hardened readily, and Loki began to roll them between her fingers. Gamora’s keen was enough encouragement for Loki to continue.

Looking over Gamora’s shoulder, she caught Nebula’s eye. The woman’s gaze trained avidly on them, but when she noticed Loki’s attention, she retreated beneath her blanket. Still, Loki could tell that she was watching just as intently. The angle of Nebula’s body beneath the covers and the small slit near her line of vision gave the woman away.

The knowledge made Loki smile for reasons she couldn't discern.

Turning Gamora’s head, Loki kissed her full on the lips. Softly first, but after a moment she pinched Gamora’s nipple, prompting her to open her mouth. Immediately Loki slid her tongue inside and relished the muffled hum of contentment that Gamora breathed. Loki didn’t know whether she was only trying to put on a show or to make Nebula jealous.

Loki’s fingers teased lower, and Gamora broke away with a gasp, trying to catch her breath. Loki wasn’t surprised to already find the woman wet, but she did not expect the way Gamora readily parted her thighs.

“You have a lovely voice,” Loki told her as she teased around Gamora’s folds. The teasing touches made Gamora squirm, and eventually she reached out to clamp her hand on Loki’s thighs in turn. “Why don’t you let me hear it a little better?” Loki asked. She stroked lightly at Gamora’s core and the woman moaned in pure need.

A small echo of the moan came from the other bed a moment later. Loki grinned, knowing it had to be Nebula. She had to resist both the urge to call the girl out and the urge to join her under the blankets. Half of the urge was only from an impulse to tease, but half was from real attraction--not that Loki was paying attention to either desire. Only absolute glee, accompanied by satisfaction that her seduction seemed to be working, weighed on her mind.

“Don’t tease,” Gamora said.

Loki wasn’t sure if it was a plea or a warning, but she decided to comply nonetheless. One hand moved lower, a single finger swiftly followed by a second thrusting in and out of Gamora, while her other hand went to stroking and rolling Gamora’s clit.

Gamora arched her back and spread her legs. Her own hands moved up from Loki’s thighs until they stretched entirely behind her back and prodded at Loki’s entrance. Loki shivered, opening her legs wider and giving Gamora access to her.

The odd angle Gamora worked from hindered any precision, but the teasing touches stimulated her all the same. Perhaps even more than they would have considering how brief they were. Loki could hardly get enough, and she rocked herself against the probing fingers, aching for relief.

Eager, she quickened her own movements, thrusting her hand faster and flicking Gamora’s clit harder. The woman was not long in coming. Suddenly her body jolted straight while gasps heaved through her lips. Loki kept stroking her through the release to prolong the sensation.

The volume of Nebula’s moans heightened as well, but Loki couldn’t focus on anything but Gamora’s body rocking with pleasure.

As soon as Gamora had recovered from her orgasm, she turned to Loki. Immediately she lifted Loki’s legs, held her thighs apart, and dove in tongue first. She couldn’t help the cry that came from her as Gamora began to relentlessly swirl her tongue against Loki’s clit. Gamora kept her hands away, and she seemed very well acquainted with using only her mouth.

Gamora circled Loki’s clit with her tongue, slowing her movements to lap at Loki’s folds slowly. Loki whimpered before she could stop herself, spreading her thighs wider and trying to maneuver her hips until those lips were where she wanted them. Gamora wasn’t compliant. She held Loki’s hips down as she slid her tongue lower to thrust it in and out of Loki, just long enough to make her ache for it. Then she was sucking on the sensitive nub.

Loki thought she might go mad with pleasure, but she refused to beg. Even in this, Loki would not relent. She took hold of Gamora’s head, encouraging the woman to where she wanted. Gamora resisted at first, teasing Loki for a longer time, but eventually she gave in. She returned her tongue to Loki’s clit, licking and swirling around it until she finally brought Loki release as well. And Loki was not so far gone that she missed the mingling sounds of pleasure matching her own, nor the way Nebula seemed to become so very still afterwards.

After the contractions in Loki’s entrance died down, Gamora moved to lie further up on the bed, settling next to Loki.

Loki let her body sag into the mattress. Her limbs tingled with the intense aftershock of pleasure, and her mind still struggled against numb and placid thoughts. After a time she realized Gamora’s soft breath ghosting intimately along her shoulder. It felt intrusive, despite the intimacy that they had just shared. It took effort to keep her body relaxed.

As awareness slowly returned, so did her discontentment. Nothing about this had brought any comfort to her. Knowing that Gamora could so easily make her body respond and so easily light Loki’s nerves on fire just filled her with trepidation. Loki couldn’t help imagining this scene repeated before an audience and the thought made her sick. She hated the idea of Gamora pulling her strings so easily. She wished she could just close her eyes and wake up in Asgard.

A stupid wish. She shook herself of the thought.

No matter how she felt, no matter what she did, this was not her choice. She could forgive herself for doing what she had to do to survive her circumstances. When she got out of this hellhole--when Mjolnir crushed Thanos’ skull--she would be absolved. She had before and she would again.

That said, she no longer felt the motivation to persuade Gamora with pleasure and kindness. Not only did it make her feel dirty and wrong, but it also was pointless. Even in the depths of her release, Gamora hadn’t wavered in her loyalty or shown any sign of wanting to. Loki would have to take a different approach. She would have to bare the truth of Gamora’s situation.

Loki opened her eyes and let motivation for the new plan flow through her, calming her nerves.

“I was once naive like you,” Gamora said, watching her closely. In the lingering quiet of the chambers, her voice startled Loki out of her thoughts. Gamora tilted her head, and her hot breath moved to defile Loki’s neck. Loki wished the woman would just give her space.

More appalled than she might have liked, Loki kept herself from shifting away. Her eyes narrowed with spite. “I can’t imagine that,” she said.

“I was,” Gamora insisted. Her hand drifted down Loki’s waist to lurk near her hip. The touch was overly intimate and she wasn’t certain why Gamora kept trying to force this physical closeness between them. “I was young and naive and desperately hopeful that anything could go my way in life. You hold out a lot of hope, dear. I only want to protect you from heartache.”

Nose wrinkling with distaste, Loki pushed her hand away. They had already had their fun, and she was in no mood to allow any further indulgence if she could help it--especially while being chastised.

The first time a king sold her to his enemies, the heartache had devastated her, and she never wanted to experience that same pain again. “I am quite familiar with the disappointment that tends to accompany hope,” she said. “This isn’t hope. My brother will come.”

Gamora smiled sympathetically. “You don’t know that.”

“I do know that.”

“You know only that your brother loves you,” she said gently. “I, too, had people whom I trusted to save me. People to trust. A doting father who protected me at all costs. A mother who loved me more than life itself.” Content nostalgia worked into Gamora’s expression as if remembering a life full of smiles and laughter, a life where she was free.

Glaring, Loki kept from saying her own biological family had been no such fairy tail.

She didn’t want to talk about Laufey, vicious enough to start wars but cowardly enough to sell his children when defeat lurked on the horizon. She didn’t want to speak of her brothers, nothing but a memory to her now after they’d all been sold off to Midgard and Muspelheim. She didn’t want to think of her mother, dead before her time for daring to birth a daughter instead of Laufey’s preferred sons. That particular bitterness would do her no good, and Gamora didn’t deserve that much of Loki.

It was difficult to hold her tongue long enough for Gamora to speak, but the other woman seemed content enough to ignore her scowl.

“At the time Thanos’ forces were rising to challenge even the most powerful kingdoms,” Gamora continued. “My father was a wise king. He knew the best plan of action was to forge an alliance straight away. He met with Thanos frequently.” Memories filled Gamora’s gaze as it shifted off into the distance. “Plans were made to marry me off and secure a treaty.”

“Loving father,” Loki agreed. “If I ever want to bear a child after this, my first priority will be to marry her off as well.” After all, marrying a daughter off wasn’t much different than selling one.

From her bed, Nebula snickered. Regardless of whom the laughter aimed to mock, Loki could not help a smirk tugging the corner of her lips, and she shared a sly glance with Nebula.

She wondered how this exchange would have differed if she’d been talking to this sister instead. The less favored girl would certainly have more reason to lash out, yet she also seemed less sharing of her past. Like a woman made of thorns, Nebula kept herself closed off and cut anything that ventured too near. Getting close enough to turn her into an ally would be a trial all on its own, but the woman was primed for betrayal. Gamora could still cling to the favor she was shown. Nebula had nothing to cling to.

Displeased by the distraction, the favored sister tugged unexpectedly rough fingers through Loki’s hair, forcing her attention back to their conversation.

“You are so naive,” she repeated, air spewing at Loki’s face. “My kingdom was weak, incompetent. As neighbors to the rising power of Thanos, we were under grave threat of invasion. To marry a man of my father’s choosing was far better than to be conquered and enslaved by strangers all the same.”

Loki lifted her chin. She scoped the sparse clothes discarded to the side and then slid her eyes over Gamora’s exposed and vulnerable curves. “Yes,” she said sarcastically. “I see how remarkably well that plan worked out for you.”

Nebula did not laugh this time, and Loki wondered if she had finally crossed the line.

Glaring, Gamora leaned close enough for their noses to touch. “How many kingdoms can you name?”

With only brief hesitation Loki glared straight back. “Nine.”

“Only nine,” Gamora agreed, “because Thanos razed my kingdom to the ground. Your kingdom will perish as well, if what you say of your brother is true. The lust and power of Thanos knows no bounds.”

Loki’s blood boiled at the mere thought. “There are only nine because Asgard only counts kingdoms that are actually worth counting. Your people were weak before Thanos arrived. Otherwise, your father would have planned for war and not for marriage. You don’t know my brother’s strength and you know nothing about Asgard,” she growled.

“Perhaps.”

Gamora’s belittling tone grated her nerves and Loki had to fight every cell in her body from throttling the woman’s exposed neck.

“But I do know that Thanos burns entire kingdoms to get what he wants. Hope will only hurt you now.”

“Hope,” Loki repeated, a bitter sound to her voice. “You think hope is what motivates me?”

Gamora’s disbelieving frown encouraged Loki to glare, meeting the woman’s gaze with her own unflinchingly.

“I have spent my entire life as a tool for others,” Loki said. “My father sold me to Odin when I was a child in order to broker peace. Odin’s enemies have both tried and succeeded to take me on multiple occasions. I know what it’s like to feel hopeless and stranded. I know what it’s like to be devastated. How long do you think I spent in Odin’s court before anything changed?”

Gamora opened her mouth, but before she could speak, Loki’s glare darkened with warning.

“But there is one thing that I know that I can count on,” she rushed to say, “and that is Thor. My brother will destroy anything and everything, kill anyone and everyone, to get to me.” She paused, her faith in her brother awakening her body with adrenaline. “Even if I could not count on his love, I do not doubt for one second that he would come marching through here just to challenge the threat that Thanos presents.”

Gamora smirked then. It was vaguely unsettling, but Loki did not care in the least.

“I am quite familiar with the disappointment of hope,” she finished. “This isn’t hope. This is cold hard assurance. My brother will come.”

“I don’t say he won’t try,” Gamora agreed. “Only that, like my father, he may fail.”

Loki’s heart rose at the threat to Thor that Gamora claimed, and a wordless roar crawled up her chest begging for release--but no. Loki swallowed her rage. Gamora only had her own experiences backing her claim. Thanos was powerful, yes. Loki’s trust in her brother’s strength and devotion was far stronger.

She would not fall to these distractions. She would stay strong.

“Whatever happens is not the point.” Drawing in a breath, Loki reached to grip Gamora’s hand in her hair. “Your loyalty is the only thing in question.”

“My loyalty?” Gamora repeated. Loki wasn’t certain if she heard insult or challenge in her tone, but it was without a doubt objection. The conflict was clear on Gamora’s face--the fight between wanting to defend her loyalty, the stance she knew she should take, or argue the thought of loyalty to the man at all, the path Loki was sure she wished to take.

Loki went on before Gamora could make up her mind. “Thanos slaughtered your people, your mother, your father,” she said, “all so that he could _rape_ you. For sport. In front of men who would just as soon have you for themselves. Over and over until you broke.” Prying out of Gamora’s hold, she propped herself up, cheeks hot with fury as she stared Gamora down. “Don’t you dare tell me you have no desire to make Thanos pay for what he did, what he is doing to you.”

Gamora’s nostrils flared. “I’ve worked hard to get where I am, to earn my privileges--”

Loki sneered, bitter. “You’ve fucked hard, you mean.You’ve sacrificed your freedom for privileges you should already have. You are a victim. A _slave_. Same as me. Same as your sister.” Loki twisted a finger to indicate Nebula off to the side. “If not for yourself, then step up for her.”

Though Gamora was fuming, Loki could still see the way her eyes darted over to Nebula and back, the way her brow wrinkled with question, the way she _wavered._ Nebula was Gamora’s weak spot. Nebula could convince Gamora to fight. But before Loki could take advantage of her weakness, all emotion drained from the woman’s face.

“I see that my kindness does little to persuade you,” Gamora said flatly, clearly retreating from the idea of hope and rebellion as fast as she could. “From now on, remember that I gave you a choice. You chose the hard way.”

Being forceful wasn’t working. Neither was flattery. It was honestly becoming tiresome trying to convince Gamora, but she wasn’t ready to give up just yet. Loki softened her demeanor, shifting to a more sincere and honest approach. Gamora’s desire to be free was there, Loki had seen it, but it was buried deep. No matter what she tried, Loki could not seem to dig deep enough to reach it. The more she failed, the more desperation filled her chest. “Gamora,” she tried, gently cupping the woman’s cheek. “You can trust me.

There is still hope.”

Gamora sat up. “That’s where you’re wrong.” She gripped Loki’s upper arms and forced her down. Loki gasped as she felt her bones squeeze under Gamora’s grasp. “Stop fighting,” Gamora said. “Earn what you can while you still have the chance.”

Loki turned her head to measure Nebula’s reaction to all this. She had watched from the corner. She had heard everything. The first day they took Loki, Nebula’s eyes had shined with fury. It had to be fury towards the situation, towards Thanos, not towards her. Loki _needed_ an ally. “You hate this as much as I do,” she said, “I know it. You can help me.”

Nothing in Nebula’s expression so much as flickered. The woman merely watched from afar with apathetic eyes. “Gamora’s right. You’d be smarter to give in.”

Loki couldn’t believe Nebula meant that answer. But it did mean that, out of everything Nebula had heard, nothing had convinced her to fight. Nebula was treated as a concubine, a slave, and made second to Gamora on top of that! Loki had seen the bitterness in her eyes, the resentment as Thanos had given her orders, yet it still wasn’t enough to persuade her.

Loki held Nebula’s gaze, searching for some spark of hope, anything! But those dark eyes looked defeated and angry and…resigned, almost. If Nebula could be persuaded, and Loki was almost certain that she could be, Loki didn’t know how to do so.

“You don’t think it’s a waste?” Loki tried once more. “Sitting in this court like a painted doll waiting to be played with? You don’t think you could be more?” She was still looking at Nebula when she began her question, but she turned her gaze toward Gamora. The woman had already risen from the bed to dress herself once more, and Loki could tell she had lost any interest in the conversation.

“I think it’s too late for anything else,” Gamora answered. She gave both Nebula and Loki a stern look before she approached the door and left them in silence.

Loki supposed that was that. Nebula didn’t think there was anything for her to place her hope in and Gamora was too afraid to try. Loki sighed as she let herself fall back on the bed. She had no allies here. She was stranded among enemies and her silver tongue had failed her.

She didn’t know how long it would be before Thor came.

If her father could see her now, Odin would be shaking his head in shame. She should be more resourceful than this. He did not send her here to wallow or stew. He sent her to turn the tide of this impending battle. If these two could not be convinced then Loki would just have to turn her attention elsewhere. The guards, perhaps.

The one thing that Loki knew she could not do, was give up. She would sooner surrender her last breath than be beaten down as these two had been.

* * *

  
Head held high, Gamora approached Thanos, waiting for her at the throne.

His eyes remained on the wide windows adorning the hall, overlooking the city, his glorious army, and the land beyond. Gamora’s gaze followed his for a time, and she marveled at the power he had, the challenge he posed to all others. At the same time, a deep part of her trembled with fear.

Loathe as she was to say, Loki’s words had rattled her. She was nothing to Thanos, even if he tried to make her believe otherwise. She wasn’t a warrior or a spy, she had no real status or protection other than the false illusion she hid within, she didn’t even have a real sister, as much as Thanos pretended she and Nebula were kin to each other.

She was a slave. She did not want this.

But what else was there to do? Best to salvage what she could. Best to bow before this man who bestowed her with favor. She had no other choice.

“Father,” Gamora said and bent to her knees. After her conversation with Loki, it made her sick to call him that.

Thanos did not turn his head. “Did you succeed?”

Sighing, Gamora shook her head. “No. She refuses to see reason. I’m afraid Odin’s daughter is determined to defy you.” For some reason, she chose not to tell him of Loki’s attempt to turn his other slaves against him. A part of her recognized the alarming amount of sympathy she felt, and she squashed it quickly. Sympathy served no one well in Thanos’ court.

“I see,” her father said.

The lack of care in his voice alerted Gamora to the danger her failure had put her in. She worked through the events of the day to find some kind of information that would redeem her. After some thought, she recalled the moment that Loki’s mask of compliance had dropped, the moment she had risen to defend herself.

Eager to regain her father’s trust, she bowed her head deeply. “But I did learn something,” she said. “Her love for her brother is unmatched. It is her primary drive, where she draws her strength.” A small smile turned the corners of her lips as she realized how very important this information could be. “I believe if you put her under enough pressure, if you break that faith in her brother, then it will in turn break her. Then she may divulge the information you seek.”

Ominous tension built in the silence of the hall. Gamora kept her head low, recognizing the potential wrath at her forwardness. When she chanced a glance, Thanos’ bright, glowing eyes had shifted to stare her down. She swallowed and stayed still, waiting for his word.

“Well then.” A broad smirk spread through his thin lips. “I suppose we will have to break her.”


End file.
